JKBOSE 10th Class English Solutions chapter – 4 Speak Up

This poem was written before 1941. India was then under the British rule. The British were very cruel rulers. They had repressed the poor Indians badly. People lived a life of fear. They had not the courage to speak up against the cruelties of the British. In this poem, the poet calls upon his people to speak up against their oppression. He tries to fill courage in their hearts. He says that they have lips that are their own. They have a soul that is still their own. They have an upright body that is also their own. So they should use their lips, their soul and their manliness to speak up. The poot says that the climate of change is already there. They should take full advantage of it and speak up. Only then, they can break the fetters of slavery.

Speak Up Summary in Hindi

यह कविता 1941 से पूर्व लिखी गई थी। तब भारत अंग्रेज़ी राज्य के अधीन था। अंग्रेज़ बहुत निर्दय शासक थे। उन्होंने ग़रीब भारतीयों को बुरी तरह से दबा कर रखा हुआ था। लोग भय का जीवन व्यतीत करते थे। उनके पास अंग्रेजों के अत्याचारों के विरुद्ध बोलने का साहस नहीं था। इस कविता में कवि अपने लोगों से आवाहन करता है कि वे अपने दमन के विरुद्ध आवाज़ उठाएँ। वह उन के दिलों में उत्साह भरने का यत्न करता है। वह कहता है कि उनके पास हॉट हैं जो उनके अपने हैं। उनके पास एक आत्मा है जो अब भी उनकी अपनी है। उनके पास आदमी वाला एक सीधा खड़ा होने वाला शरीर है जोकि उनका अपना ही है। इसलिए उन्हें अपने होंठ, अपनी आत्मा और अपने पुरुषत्व का इस्तेमाल करना चाहिए और खुल कर बोलना चाहिए। कवि कहता है कि परिवर्तन का वातावरण पहले ही तैयार हो चुका है। उन्हें इसका पूरा लाभ उठाना चाहिए और अपना मुंह खोलना चाहिए। केवल तभी वे दासता की जंजीरों को तोड़ सकते हैं।

Speak up, for your lips are not sealed.

And your words are still your own.

This upright body is yours :

Speak, while your soul is still your own.

Word-meanings : 1. sealed – मुहरबन्द होना; 2. upright-ऊपर को सीधा; 3. soul-आत्मा।

Explanation: The poet calls upon his countrymen to speak up the things they want to speak. They have their own lips. They have not to borrow lips from others to speak up. They have upright bodies. The poet means to say that they are human beings and have the power to speak. It is only human beings who have upright bodies. No animal has an upright body or the power to speak. Thus the poet wants to make his countrymen realise that God has given them the power to speak and they must speak up the things they want to say.

कवि अपने देशवासियों से आवाहन करता है कि वे उन बातों को बोल दें जो वे बोलना चाहते हैं। उनके पास अपने स्वयं के होते हैं। उन्हें बोलने के लिए दूसरों से होंठ उधार लेने की ज़रूरत नहीं है। उनके ऊपर की तरफ़ सीधे खड़े हुए शरीर हैं। कवि के कहने का भाव है कि वे मानव-जीव हैं और बोलने की शक्ति रखते हैं। यह केवल मानव-जीव हो होते हैं जिनके ऊपर को सीधे खड़े शरीर होते हैं। किसी भी जानवर का ऊपर को सीधा खड़ा शरीर नहीं होता और ही उनमें बोलने की शक्ति होती है। इस तरह से कवि अपने देशवासियों को यह महसूस करवाना चाहता है कि ईश्वर में उन्हें बोलने की शक्ति दी है और उन्हें वे बातें अवश्य बोल देनी चाहिएं जो वे बोलना चाहते हैं।

Look there, in that smithy;

Its red oven, fierce flames,

The padlocks are already opening their mouths

And each fetter is skirting around.

Word-meanings : 1. smithy – लोहारखाना, भट्ठी; 2. oven – चूल्हा, तन्दूर; 3. fierce—भयानक, तेज; 4. padlocks — ताले; 5. fetter जंजीर, बेड़ी, 6.  skirting – किनारे-किनारे चलना, बचने की कोशिश करना ।

Explanation : Here the poet talks in a language that is plainly symbolic. He uses the symbols of smithy, oven, flames, padiocks and fetters. The meaning of these symbols is not hard to understand. The smithy is the struggle going on for India’s freedom. The oven is the heat generated by the death of the various martyrs. The flames are the voices of protest that have begun to rise everywhere. The padlocks and the fetters are clearly the symbols of slavery. They are waiting to be melted in the smithy of the freedom fighters. What the poet means to say through these symbols is that the common people should also join this struggle and raise their voice against the cruel repression of the British rulers.

यहां कवि एक ऐसी भाषा में बात करता है जो कि स्पष्ट रूप से सांकेतिक है । वह लोहारखाने, भट्ठी, ज्वालाओं, तालों और जंजीरों के प्रतीक चिन्हों का इस्तेमाल करता है । इन प्रतीक चिन्हों के अर्थ को समझना कठिन नहीं है। लोहारखाना वह संघर्ष है जो कि भारत की आज़ादी के लिए चल रहा है । तन्दूर या भट्ठी वह गर्मी है जो अनेक शहीदों की मृत्यु से पैदा हुई है। ज्वालाएं विरोध की वे आवाजें हैं जो हर जगह से उठनी शुरू हो गई हैं । ताले और जंजीरें स्पष्ट रूप से दासता के प्रतीक चिन्ह हैं। वे प्रतीक्षा कर रहे हैं कि उन्हें स्वतन्त्रता सेनानियों की भट्ठी में पिघला दिया जाए । इन प्रतीक चिन्हों के माध्यम से जो बात कवि कहना चाहता है, वह यह है कि साधारण लोगों को भी इस संघर्ष में शामिल हो जाना चाहिए और अंग्रेज़ी शासकों के द्वारा किए जा रहे निर्दयतापूर्ण दमन के विरुद्ध अपनी आवाज़ उठानी चाहिए।

Speak up now, for time’s running out.

Before your body and mind fade away,

Tell us, for truth is not yet dead.

Speak

Whatever you have to say !

Word-meanings : 1. running out — समाप्त हो रहा; 2. fade away – निर्बल हो जाना; 3. whatever — जो भी ।

Explanation : The poet calls upon his countrymen to speak up now or it will be too late. He says that the time is running out. The smithy is yet in full heat and they must strike while the iron is yet hot. If it once gets cold, it will again become as hard as ever. The padlocks and chains of slavery will become unbreakable. The poet says that the truth is not yet dead. It is known to everyone what is just and what is unjust, what is right and what is wrong. Therefore, everyone must speak up and say whatever they have to say.

कवि अपने देशवासियों से आवाहन करता है कि वे अब अपने मुंह खोल कर बोल दें अन्यथा बहुत देर हो जाएगी। वह कहता है कि समय समाप्त होता जा रहा है। लोहारखाने की भट्ठी अभी भी बहुत गर्म हुई पड़ी है और उन्हें लोहे के गर्म रहते-रहते चोट लगा देनी चाहिए। यदि यह एक बार ठण्डा हो गया तो फिर यह पहले जितना ही कठोर हो जाएगा। दासता के ताले और जंजीरें न टूट सकने वाले हो जाएँगे । कवि कहता है कि सच्चाई अभी मरी नहीं है। प्रत्येक को है कि क्या न्यायसंगत है और क्या अन्यायपूर्ण है, क्या ठीक है और क्या ग़लत है । इसलिए प्रत्येक को अवश्य बोल देना चाहिए, और कह देना चाहिए जो उन्हें कहना है ।

Ans. The poet wants his countrymen to speak up the things they have to say. He wants them to have courage and express their resentment against the cruel British rule. He wants them to stand up and join hands with the other freedom fighters.

Ans. The poet says that the truth is not yet dead. It is yet alive and known to everyone. Therefore, it should not be difficult for the reader to recognize this truth and speak up for it.

Ans. The chains will break if we have the courage to break them. They will break if we refuse to live in them. And they will break if we work unitedly with others who have been kept chained. No chain or fetter can remain unbroken if the smithy is in proper state of heat and preparation.

Ans. There is a proper time for every action. We should strike only when the iron is red hot. The poet urges the reader to speak up now because he feels that it is the proper time to do so. The winds of change have already begun to blow. The struggle for freedom is already in full heat. So, the poet wants the common people also to lend their voice to it.

Ans. Certainly, the poet wants to give the people a piece of advice. He finds that the common man is too oppressed to speak up. He is dumb with fear. The poet wants these people to hear the voice of their soul and speak up. They should realise that God has given them lips to speak. So, they must speak up and say what they have to say.

Ans. A metaphor is a word or phrase used in an imaginative way to describe something else. A metaphor is used to show how two different things have the same quality. It is used to make the description more powerful. In this poem, the poet has used the smithy, the oven, the flames, the padlocks and the fetters as metaphors. They have been used to describe the struggle for India’s freedom in a symbolic manner.

Ans. The poet has used various images in this poem. In a blacksmith’s shop, there is a red oven. Fierce flames rise from this oven. The oven is used to melt old useless things made of metal. The same metal is then used to make something new and useful. Here in this poem, the blacksmith’s shop stands for the situation the freedom fighters have created for the freedom of their motherland. The red oven and the fierce flames stand for their boiling courage. The chains and fetters are symbols of slavery which they are determined to break.

Ans. This poem is written by Faiz Ahmad Faiz. In this poem, the poet calls upon his countrymen to speak up because the time is running out. He wants them to strike iron when it is hot. He feels that it is the proper time to do so. He wants his countrymen to speak up the things they have to say. The winds of change have already begun to blow. The struggle for freedom is already in full heat. So, the poet wants his countrymen also to lend their voice to it.

“Speak up, for your lips are not sealed

And your words are still your own;

This upright body is yours :

Speak, while your soul is still your own.”

Ans. The poetic device used in this poem is alliteration ‘Speak, while your soul is still your own.’

Speak up, for your lips are not sealed

And your words are still your own.

This upright body is yours :

Speak, while your soul is still your own.

The poet wants to make his (a) …………. realise that God has given them the power to (b) …………. and they must speak up the things they want to (c) …………… And they have also a (d) ………….. of their own, They should follow (e) …………. of their soul and say the (f) …………. they have kept buried in their hearts out of fear.

Expressions	To suggest that
(a) Sealed (b) Upright (c) Soul	(i) ……………… (ii) …………….. (iii) ……………

(i) moral (ii) opened (iii) closed or fixed (iv) power (v) spirit.

1. The poet provokes the reader to speak. He does so because he wants that his people should not live a life of fear. He calls upon them to speak up against cruelty.

2. He wants his reader to speak up the things he wants to say.

3. Faiz Ahmad Faiz.

4. (a) countrymen (b) speak (c) say (d) soul (e) the voice (f) things.

5. (a) Sealed – closed or fixed; (b) Upright – moral; (c) Soul – spirit.

This upright body is yours :

Speak while your soul is still your own.

Look there, in that smithy;

Its red oven, fierce flames.

The padlocks are already opening their mouths

And each fetter is skirting around.

1. The smithy is the symbol of the struggle that is going on for India’s freedom. The oven is the heat generated by the death of the various martyrs. The flames are the voices of protest that have begun to rise everywhere. The padlocks and the fetters are clearly the symbols of slavery. They are waiting to be melted in the smithy of the freedom fighters. What the poet means to say through these symbols is that the common people should also join this struggle and raise their voice against the cruel repression of the British rulers.

2. In this stanza, the poet has used the poetic device of metaphor. The smithy, the oven, the flames, the padlocks and the fetter, all are examples of metaphor. They describe some aspects of our struggle for freedom in an imaginative manner.

3. The smithy, the oven, the flames, the padlocks and the fetter – all are examples of metaphor – which have been used in the above lines.

4. The poet has used here the metaphor of the smithy to describe the state of India’s struggle for freedom. In the smithy of this struggle, the iron is burnin hot. The padlocks are opening their mouths. Now it needs only a little of effort to break the fetters of slavery and give the nation a gift of freedom

Look there, in that smithy;

Its red oven, fierce flames,

The padlocks are already opening their mouths

And each fetter is skirting around.

Speak up now, for time is running out

Before your body and mind fade away,

Tell us, for truth is not yet dead.

1. It is a symbol of the struggle going on for India’s freedom.

2. Here the fetters are symbols of slavery. Each fetter is waiting to be melted in the smithy of the freedom fighters.

3. (a) oven = stove         (b) fetter = shackle.

4. For answer refer to Question 7 under Textual Questions..

Speak up now, for time’s running out.

Before your body and mind fade away,

Tell us, for truth is not yet dead.

Speak

Whatever you have to say !

A	B
(a) fierce (b) fade away (c) running out	(i) to become weak (ii) exhausting (iii) violent and angry.